And Witness Devotee
by CNightJoy
Summary: Prowl awakens to find he's in a small rusted room without any doors or windows. How did he get there? How will he escape? And what does Unicron want with him and a youngling?


My first horror story I'm trying to out. I'm working on different writing styles and I wanted to try this one out. Please let me know what you guys thing. I'm going to be working on a large series that ties this in with Lost and Along as well as Wailing in the Night.

I was originally going to post this for Halloween, but due to some unfortunate circumstances I had to put off posting this until now. Well it does get dark out really early now, so it's kind of a scary time.

As always please let me know if there are any grammar or spelling errors. Thanks everyone!

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><p>Prowl's helm felt heavy. He held up a servo and slowly rubbed soothing circles at his temples. His doorwings trembled in time with the deep vibrations echoing around him. He shook his helm. It took a few tries before his optics onlined.<p>

Prowl was sitting in a dark room without any doors or windows. He looked up. The top of the room opened up to what he guessed was a larger room. There was a faint blue light emanating from the above room.

Prowl reset his optics, but he wasn't seeing things. He tried his comm link. "Chromedome, do you read me. Please respond. Chromedome, this is Prowl, please respond."

Static met his audios.

"Chromedome? Copper? Does anyone read me?"

Static.

Prowl let out a sigh and leaned against the rusty metal wall. "How did I get here?" he asked himself. He started to laugh. Talking to oneself was a ridiculous thing to do. What he needed to do was figure out a way to get out of the hole.

The last thing Prowl remembered was patrolling near the old temple in North Praxus. The temple was small and had become run down over the years. Only a few priests kept the temple running and helped the many homeless bots in the area. As a rooky, Prowl was often assigned to the area along with his partner Chromedome.

Prowl wondered what had happened to him. "Someone must have realized I haven't checked in yet." He checked his chronometer. It had been half an orn since he had last checked it. "Chromedome must have informed someone by now that I haven't checked in." Prowl's partner was nearly as good at citing the Praxian Enforcer protocol book as he was.

Prowl eyed the top of his prison. He tried to jump. He fell back to the ground with hard clank. "Ah," he gasped. One of his doorwings was awkwardly pinned under him. He raised a servo to pull himself up along the wall and hit a button hidden along the wall. The floor began to move.

It was a slow decent. Prowl watched as the soft blue light grew further and further away. The horrible humming started to fade and his doorwings stopped their trembling. The gears moving the elevator were loud and clearly hadn't been oiled in a long time.

Prowl stayed in the center of the elevator, ready for whatever might happen when the room stopped moving. He flicked on his headlights.

One side of the wall disappeared as the elevator came to a horrendous screeching halt. Prowl was thrown backward. He managed to catch himself on the opening. In front of him was a long dark hallway. He pulled out his acid gun and clicked off the safety.

Prowl crept down the hall. Even with his headlights on their highest setting, he could barely see a few meters ahead of him. One of his servos trailed along the rusted wall. It caused a high pitched whine to follow him. His headlights started to flicker.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Is someone there?" Prowl asked. His headlights flickered once, twice and went out. He raised his acid gun up. "State your designation."

The air was silent and heavy. Prowl took a few careful steps. He kept one doorwing close to the wall and braced his acid gun with both his servos. There wasn't even an atmospheric draft.

Something brushed against his doorwing. Prowl whipped around. It was too dark for him to see anything, like he was staring into a tar pit.

Prowl took a shaky draft of air through his vents. "It was just a sensory glitch," he said. He softly smiled. "And I'm talking to myself. I think I will require a full processor scan when I get back to the station."

He turned back around and caught a brief flicker of shadowy movement. His doorwings flared and a shiver went up his spinal strut. He ignored the sensation and hurried after whatever he had seen. "Stop, I am Officer Prowl of the Praxus Enforcers. I am in need of assistance," he called out.

_Clang!_

Prowl ran smack into a wall. It was smooth, except the wall had a distinct dip where a command pad should be to open the door. Prowl gripped the indentation and turned it counter clockwise. The door creaked as it was pushed open. Prowl took a step inside. He immediately shut off his optic for a few kliks.

When Prowl reopened his optics, he found he was in a bright room that blinded his optics. It took a few breems before he could see properly. His headlights flickered back on. Prowl frowned and turned them off. Compared to the rusted hallway the room he had stepped into was an unsettling shade of white. He felt his tanks roll.

"Oh," said Prowl. He leaned against the doorframe and put a servo to his helm. It felt like something was trying to cleave his mind in two. "Gah!"

The world spun before his optics. Prowl fell to his knees. Off lining his optics, Prowl waited for sweet bliss of status to claim him. He swallowed hard to stop himself from purging on the floor. After what felt like orns he onlined his optics and managed to pull himself to his peds. The odd spell had passed in under 30 kliks.

Prowl loudly swore.

"Are you alright mister?"

Prowl jerked at the high pitched voice. He pointed his acid gun at the source, one servo still bracing him on the wall. He relaxed his grip when he saw a youngling locked in a large cage.

The young doorwinger eyed Prowl with over bright yellow optics.

"What are you doing here?" asked Prowl. Somewhere in the back of his processor he was reminded that he was supposed to follow a fixed set of procedures. He needed to analyze the situation, keep the citizen calm and gather any useful identification he could.

The youngling tilted his head. "I woke up in here," he said. "Is your helm alright? You should go see a medic if it hurts real bad."

"I'm fine," said Prowl. He lowered his acid gun as he approached the cage. "What is your designation?"

"Barricade," said the youngling.

"Do you know how you got here?"

"I remember having a snack with one of the priests," said Barricade. "He lets me sleep under the benches in the temple sometimes." So the youngling lived on the streets. He was likely an orphan or runaway if one of the priests was looking after him.

"Okay," said Prowl. "I'm going to get you out of this cage."

Prowl looked at the lock. It wasn't an electronic lock, but a simple hole. Prowl had seen one before when his sire had given him locked box to hide his sparkling treasures in. It required a metal key to turn the lock. Prowl glanced around. He didn't see a key.

"Is everything alright sir?" asked Barricade.

Prowl put on a reassuring smile. "Please call me Prowl." He studied the locking mechanism. "Move away, Barricade, I'm going to shoot the lock."

Barricade moved to the back of the cage as Prowl carefully took aim. He fired three quick shots. The lock melted away. Prowl pulled the cage open.

Barricade shot out of the cage and latched onto Prowl's leg. Prowl awkwardly patted him between his doorwings.

"Don't worry," said Prowl. "I will lead us out of here." He bent down and picked up Barricade. He rested the youngling on his hip plate.

Prowl glanced around the room. Apart from Barricade's cage, it was empty. A second door stood opposite the one Prowl had come through. Prowl approached the door.

"Have you seen anyone come through this door?"

Barricade shook his head. "You're the first person I've seen since waking up." He shifted in Prowl's grip. "My doorwings feel funny."

Prowl rested a gentle servo on the youngling's back. "I will take you to a medic as soon as we find our way out of here."

Prowl approached the second door. He leaned close and tried to pick up any sound on the other side. He couldn't hear anything.

The second door also had a handle where a key pad should have been. Prowl carefully pulled the door open part way. He checked the area, keeping Barricade shielded from the unknown.

He found a rusted staircase. The left side went down while the right headed up. Prowl pulled the door all the way open. He looked at Barricade. "I think we need to go up," said Prowl. Barricade nodded.

Prowl tested the first step with a ped. It seemed to hold his weight. Barricade trembled in his hold. "I don't like this place," said Barricade.

"There's nothing to worry about," said Prowl. "I got you."

The stairs creaked and cracked under Prowl's weight. With each step, Prowl braced himself in case he fell. Barricade clung to him like glue. Prowl soon reached a spot where the rest of the stairs had fully rusted away.

"I guess we're not going that way," said Prowl. He looked at the youngling. "I'm going to try my comm link again."

"Chromedome, can you hear me? This is Prowl. I am in need of assistance."

Static filled his audios. He shook his helm.

"I'm not sure what's blocking them. They're supposed to have a range 20000 meters below the standard level of Praxus," said Prowl. This fact had been proven accurate when a massive cave in had landed several units of Praxus's finest in the ancient ruins below the modern city. More than a few civilians had been trapped in the lowest reaches of the cave in and they had been able to radio for help.

Prowl studied the wall in front of them. He set Barricade on the ground. "Hold on tight to me," Prowl instructed. He leaned close to the rusted wall. There should be a door handle fairly close to him.

Prowl reached out his servo and felt along the wall. It opened up to a small, dimly lit room. Prowl lead them inside.

"What's that?" Barricade pointed to podium with large metal slabs. Several glow crystals were placed around the slabs.

Prowl studied the metal slabs. He slowly lifted one and found it had a hinge much like a door. Ancient Cybertronian text that Prowl couldn't decipher was etched into the metal. He turned the slab over and found several illustrations. The first was of a bound mech in chains. The second was of a mech lying on a table with they're spark chamber empty. The third illustration was of a mech kneeling in front of an altar while a second mech held up some sort of offering. The fourth and final illustration showed a youngling being held between the two mechs from the third illustration having something forced into the spark chamber.

Prowl turned away from the disturbing images. "We should get moving," said Prowl. "We don't know if the floor here is stable."

"But what is that?" asked Barricade pointing to the metal slabs.

"I'm not sure," said Prowl. "Probably an old Cybertronian story." He turned his headlights back on and scanned the other two walls.

"Um, Officer Prowl," said Barricade. "I think there's a door over there." He point to the wall behind the podium. Prowl moved closer to the podium. Part of the wall looked like it was slightly indented.

"Hmm, you might be right," said Prowl. He pulled at the podium. It was heavy and protested at being moved. I thick layer of dust rose into the air. Prowl closed his vents to prevent any dust from causing problems.

Barricade's engine's sputtered. "Sorry," Prowl apologized. "It'll only take a few more kliks." Prowl's doorwings flared back as he gave one final tug. Barricade was right. There was a door here.

"Good optic," said Prowl. He turned around to pick up the youngling, but Barricade wasn't there. "Barricade, you shouldn't be hiding from me. It's dangerous. Barricade!"

Barricade didn't give a response. There was nowhere for the youngling to hide in the small room. The door that he had opened was closed. Prowl approached the door and tried the handle. It wouldn't budge. "Barricade!"

"This doesn't make any sense," muttered Prowl. The only way for him to go was through the door behind the podium. He slammed it open, protocol thrown out the window. A youngling had vanished from his custody and was likely in grave danger.

He was met with a dimly lit hallway lined with doors. He held his acid gun out in front of him and pulled the first door open. It was a small empty room. Prowl moved to the next door. The room behind it was also empty.

Prowl opened ten doors. Each door had hidden an empty room behind it. Prowl stared at the last door. His acid gun was held tightly in front of him. He moved reached out for the handle. The door creaked. Prowl froze and studied the door in front of him.

The door was wrenched open. A large mech with dead optics stood in the doorway. The mech hardly looked alive with sickly grey armor. The large mech growled at Prowl.

Prowl took a step back. "Citizen, I am Officer Prowl of the Praxian Enforcers. This is a matter of importance, please state your name."

The large mech growled louder.

"Citizen, please state you name," repeated Prowl.

The mech lunged for Prowl. Prowl gracefully stepped out of the way. He needed a new plan. The mech clawed at the air. Prowl ran for the nearest open door.

"Gah!" Prowl felt energon ooze off his doorwings. The large mech had his claws tightly clamped onto one of the sensitive appendages.

Prowl whipped around and fired two shots. The metal hissed where the acid bullets made contact. The mech let go and Prowl dove for the open doorway. He slammed the sliding door shut and used his acid gun to seal the door.

Prowl looked around. "From one cage to another," he said. He was surrounded by four rusted walls. The mech outside was banging on the door. Large fist sized dents decorated the metal.

Prowl's processor was starting to spin. He blinked away several warnings about low energon levels and damage to his left doorwing. He leaned back on the opposite wall. His servo hit a hidden switch on the wall.

"Great another secret passage," said Prowl. He was getting tired of these games. They didn't make any sense.

The floor began to rise up. Prowl looked up to see if he would be crushed by the ceiling only to watch as the ceiling was pulled away to a dim blue glow. Prowl thought he was looking up at a star filled sky miles outside of Praxus. Perhaps he was.

The floor continued to rise and the walls fell away. Prowl found himself in the strangest garden he had ever seen. Blue crystals covered the ground without a given pattern. Prowl's head spun faster and he fell to one knee.

"Hello, Officer Prowl."

Prowl shook his head. He managed to look up. A mech fashioned in the reversed colors of a priest of Primus stood near a decorated alter. Where he should have been blue, he was red and instead of gold, he had gun metal grey tattoos. Prowl pushed himself upright.

"Who are you?" Prowl asked. He tried to focus on the room, but the odd humming sound was messing with his sensors. "Where's Barricade?"

"Thank you for joining us," said the mech. His gaze seemed to be looking straight through to Prowl's spark. Prowl felt his vents start to work overtime. His joints locked up. For the first time in his functioning, Prowl was too terrified to move. He tried counting the digits of pi to calm his nerves, but the numbers wouldn't come to him.

The mech smiled. Each tooth was filed into a razor sharp point. "Yes," he said. "You are prefect. I knew we had chosen well."

Prowl felt two sets of strong servos grab him from behind. In one swift motion he was back on his peds. His helm felt like it was going to split in two. The two mechs pulled his arms apart and held him spread out. Prowl tried to struggle out of the larger mech's grip. It was impossible to get free.

"My dear Officer Prowl," said the fanged mech. He flung his arms wide in a mock welcome. "I am pleased that you are here to witness the salvation of Praxus." He paused and slowly lowered his arms back down to his sides. "Perhaps Praxus will finally lead Cybertron into the next great age."

"Hey let go of me."

Another mech stepped out from a hidden door. He wove through the glowing crystals. Barricade was held in the large mech's grasp. The youngling kicked his feet out in front of him.

"Officer Prowl help!" called the youngling.

Prowl pulled again at the mechs restraining him. "Release me," he demanded.

The mech holding Barricade placed him before the altar. Barricade's flailing limbs were pinned down. "Stop it," Barricade said. "Let me go!"

Prowl heavily drew air through his vents. "As an Officer of Praxus, I demand that you release the youngling."

The fanged mech laughed. "You are in no position to give orders, officer." He pulled a deep crimson crystal from his subspace and held it over the squirming youngling. Barricade stared at the crystal. A cloudy red color bled into his optics. Entranced, Barricade became relaxed and stopped fighting the large mech.

"What are you doing? Stop!" yelled Prowl. The pain in his helm was overwhelming. It was difficult to focus on his surroundings.

The two mechs holding Prowl dragged him towards the altar. He twisted in their grasp, fighting them with everything he had. They slammed him onto the altar and chained his servos and peds down. The fanged mech held the crimson crystal over Prowl.

Prowl roared in agony. His body lifted off the altar and slammed back down painfully onto his doorwings. "Relax officer," said the fanged mech. "You are the very special offering that will bring Praxus into a new age. The age of the Unmaker shall come into being."

"Unicron?" asked Prowl. He didn't believe in Primus or his evil brother. They were just sparkling stories. Preprogrammed mechs had no need for such silly nonsense.

"He will be reborn," said the fanged mech. He motioned towards Barricade. "The youngling will serve as his new form."

"This is insane," said Prowl thickly. "Unicron is a myth."

The fanged mech raised an optic ridge. "You don't believe in the Dark Lord Unicron?" he asked as though speaking to a naughty sparkling. The crystals pulsed around them.

"It isn't logical to believe in myths," said Prowl.

"Logical?" asked the fanged mech. "How strange. No matter, you're mind is still a fine offering to our Dark Lord." He held up the crimson crystal once again. Prowl shuttered his optics. His mind began to swim. He started to calculate the digits of the golden ratio.

He would not fall for this mad mechs ravings. He would fight whatever drug he had been given. He would not allow anything to happen to the youngling.

The humming hurt Prowl's doorwings. His body felt like it was burning in acid. He continued to calculate. 1.6180339887….

As though a prayer Prowl hadn't known he had been praying was being answered, everything around Prowl slowed down. He felt each vibration of the strange crystals begin to match the pulses of his spark. Images of the book he had found with Barricade flooded into his mind. The fanged mech, he planned on pulling his spark out.

Instead of flying into a panic, Prowl began to relax. The world suddenly took on the consistency of a thick liquid. The fanged mech was chanting, but Prowl couldn't understand a word he said. It was as though someone had stuffed wired gauze into his hearing sensors.

A dark mist rose around the altar. Prowl watched as Barricade inhaled it. As the mist rose, all of the color drained from the room.

The fanged mech pulled out a long piece of metal shaped like an energon blade. He held the blade high above Prowl, ready to plunge it into his spark.

The odd pulses fueled Prowl's inner strength. He gave one final yank on the chains holding his arms down. The old metal snapped clean off.

In one fluid movement, Prowl grabbed the fanged mech's wrist. With a quick jerk, the blade was in Prowl's servos. He twisted it around and stabbed the fanged mech right in the spark.

The fanged mech did not fall to the ground as a normal mech should. With a look of surprise, his body began to liquefy and melt. "You have destroyed us Prowl," said the fanged mech. His voice bubbled around each word. "The Unmaker would have rewarded you. He would have rewarded us all."

The other three mechs were also melting. Their mouths were open in silent screams, blank optics turned skyward. They turned into molten silver puddles that became absorbed by the crystals.

Prowl snapped off the chains holding his other arm and legs. Prowl stared at the remains of the melted mechs. He couldn't feel any remorse for mechs. Actually, now that he could analyze his situation, he found that he could barely feel any emotional response at all. It was a strange sensation.

Color began to return to his sight as well. However it was dull and muted. Nothing was as sharp as it had previously been.

Prowl caught the end of a shadowed image out of the corner of his optics. He whipped his helm around to see what it was and thought he saw an image of a red and blue mech disappear through a closed doorway. Prowl shook his helm. It was illogical to think of mechs walking through closed door.

Prowl rolled off the altar and approached Barricade. He put a hand on the youngling's shoulder. Brilliant red optics turned to look at him.

"Are you alright?" Even Prowl's voice sounded strange.

"Officer Prowl?" asked the youngling. Barricade shook his head to clear his thoughts. He glanced around the strange room. "Where are we?"

"I am not sure," said Prowl.

Static filled Prowl's hearing. He pressed his com link. "Officer Prowl reporting," he said.

"Prowl *_buzz*_is that you? Where the pit have you been?"

"I am uncertain as to my location at present," said Prowl. He glanced at Barricade. "I am also in the presence of a youngling in need of medical assistance."

"Prowl?" said Chromedome in Prowl's ear. "Are you alright? You don't sound like yourself."

"I am in need of a medical evaluation as well," stated Prowl. "Can you get a lock on our location?"

"Yes," said Chromedome. There was a pause. "That's odd. It looks like your several kilometers below the old Northern Temple."

Prowl glanced at the door the golden mech had disappeared through. "I think I have a way to meet you on street level. I will bring the youngling with me. Prowl out."

"Prowl wait-" Prowl cut Chromedome off before he could make any protests.

Prowl held out his servo to Barricade. "Come along Barricade," said Prowl. "We're going home."

Barricade stared for a moment at Prowl's offered servo. He carefully took it and allowed Prowl to lead him through the doorway. It led to another elevator. Within breems Prowl and Barricade were outside the Northern Temple.

Prowl heard Chromedome's sirens approach their location. He knelt down next to Barricade. "They will likely take you to Praxus Central for medical treatment." Prowl held out an identification card to the youngling. "Let me know if you are in need of any further assistance."

Barricade gave prowl an eerie smile. Prowl knew he should feel unsettled by the youngling's unfocused gaze, but he couldn't bring himself to be concerned. The smile never reached Barricade's glowing red optics.


End file.
